Meet Sen. Adriano Espaillat — the man trying to unseat Charles Rangel

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NEW YORK (PIX11) — Senator Espaillat has spent the majority of his life as a community activist serving upper Manhattan. On Tuesday, he hopes his hard work will help dethrone Rep. Rangel, who has had his seat for 44 years.

Sen. Espaillat was born in the Dominican Republic, the first Dominican-American in US state legislature. Before being elected to the Senate in 2011, Espaillat served on the NY State Assembly from 1997-2010.

Now he is looking to be the first Dominican-born congressman.

Sen. Espaillat has made a name for himself through his community activism, serving various groups in upper Manhattan including Project Right Start, the Victims Services Community Office, and NYC Criminal Justice Agency among others.

He has advocated for rent regulations, cracking down on alcohol sales to minors, supporting livery drivers’ rights, and has tackled a plethora of civil rights issues.

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1 Comment

Too bad Mr. Espaillat chose to run as a Dominican candidate, or the “first Dominican to go to Congress.” Clearly he doesn’t have a clue about the multi-ethnic history and culture of Harlem. To Rangel’s credit, he never ran as the Congressman for Black Harlem, though this should be his last election win at age 84. As such, Espaillat comes across as a Trojan horse candidate for non-Harlem interests. Sadly, mostly local White news media wants Rangel to lose, forgetting that Harlem has always been ethnically diverse though predominantly African American and Puerto Rican American. That has not changed in the 61 years since I’ve been born and raised in Harlem. We may be gentrifying again, but it’s a gentrification that is just as Black, Brown, Beige and White as always. Get over it White media, and let Harlem continue to be Harlem. As such, as of minutes to midnight, I’m confident Mr. Rangel will win for the last time.